By Lyla Shroff
Annually for 12 days in May, the city of Cannes transforms from a beachy resort town into a hub for film lovers, garnering an audience of over 200,000 people, ranging from filmmakers and actors to movie buffs. The Cannes Film Festival or the Festival de Cannes is undoubtedly the biggest event in the film industry. Celebrating the 76th year since its inauguration, the globally renowned film festival is set to take place in the seaside city of Cannes, France from May 16-27, 2023.
What is the Cannes Film Festival?
It is one of the most well renowned film festivals in the world. Several international films are screened and are in competition for various accolades. The invitation-only festival will be held at its usual venue, Palais des Festivals et des Congrès in Cannes. The 24 steps leading to the Palais des Festivals are veiled by a red carpet as it transforms into a site for the most impressive celebrities to exhibit the best of fashion. Although the guest list has not been announced yet, some of the expected celebrities include Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Margot Robbie, Tom Hanks, Scarlett Johansson, Natalie Portman, Julianne Moore, Ethan Hawke, and Pedro Pascal. Indian actress Anushka Sharma is also rumoured to make her Cannes Film Festival debut this year.
The festival acts as a stage for countries to generate a public image for their cinema. It also serves as a platform for directors and producers to gain recognition from the public and advertise their work to potential distributors through the festival’s extensive media coverage
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Special Moments to Look Forward to at the Cannes Film Festival 2023
● Johnny Depp will return to the film industry with the festival’s opening film ‘Jeanne Du Barry’ by Maiwenn.
● It has already been announced that the festival will honour Michael Douglas with the Honorary Palme d’Or, 2023 for his remarkable career and major contributions to the film industry.
● Anurag Kashyap’s ‘Kennedy’ is the only Indian film in a selection category at the Cannes Festival and it will be played at the Midnight Screenings.
● Korean Actor Song Joong Ki and director Kim Chang Hoon make their Cannes Festival debut with ‘Hwa–Ran’ (Hopeless).
● The world premiere of the global icon Wes Anderson’s film ‘Asteroid City’ will be screened at the festival.
● After winning the 2018 Palme d’Or, Hirokazu Kore-eda will be back with another film Kaibutsu (Monster) in the ‘In Competition’ category.
● To be screened at the festival is one of the most anticipated films of 2023, ‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’ by James Mangold. It will be the first feature film of the series that is not directed by Steven Spielberg. It also marks the last time actor Harrison Ford will play the lead role of Indiana Jones.
● Six female filmmakers are in the running for the ‘In Competition’ category—this is a record-breaking number compared to the previous record of five female filmmakers in 2022.
The Jury for the Cannes Film Festival 2023
Ruben Östlund has been announced as the President of the Jury for the 76th Cannes Film Festival. The Swedish director has been awarded twice with the greatest honour of the Palme d’Or, making him the perfect candidate for this crucial role.
Alongside Ruben Östlund, the Jury features Moroccan director Maryam Touzani, French actor Denis Ménochet, British-Zambian screenwriter & director Rungano Nyoni, American actress & director Brie Larson, American actor Paul Dano, Afghan writer Atiq Rahimi, Argentinian director & screenwriter Damián Szifron, and French director Julia Ducournau who won the top prize in 2021.
Source: AFP Photos
Selection for the Cannes Film Festival 2023
Announcing the awards, The Un Certain Regard awards ceremony will be held on Friday 26th May in the Debussy Theatre. The La Cinef awards for film school films will be announced on Thursday 25th May by the Short Films and La Cinef Jury during a ceremony at the Buñuel Theatre, followed by a screening of the award-winning films. The rest of the awards will be announced on 27th May, 2023.
Here is a list of the films of feature films selected for their respective categories—In Competitions, Out of Competition, Un Certain Regard, Midnight Screenings, Cannes Premiers, and Special Screening:
In Competition: These are the films that will be competing for the Palme d’Or. They will be screened in the Théâtre Lumière.
Jeanne Du Barry by Maiwenn – Opening Film out of Competition
Club Zero by Jessica Hausner
The Zone of Interest by Jonathan Glazer
Kuolleet Lehdet by Aki Kaurismäki (Fallen Leaves)
Les Filles D’olfa by Kaouther Ben Hania (Four Daughters)
Asteroid City by Wes Anderson
Anatomie D’une Chute by Justine Triet (Anatomy of a Fall)
Kaibutsu by Kore-Eda Hirokazu (Monster)
Il Sol Dell’ Avvenire by Nanni Moretti (A Brighter Tomorrow)
L’été Dernier by Catherine Breillat
Kuru Otlar Ustune by Nuri Bilge Ceylan (About Dry Grasses)
La Chimera by Alice Rohrwacher
La Passion De Dodin Bouffant by Tran Anh Hüng (The Pot-Au-Feu)
Rapito by Marco Bellocchio (Kidnapped)
May December by Todd Haynes
Qing Chun by Wang Bing (Youth)
The Old Oak by Ken Loach
Banel E Adama by Ramata-Toulave Sy | 1st Film
Perfect Days by Wim Wenders
Firebrand by Karim Aïnouz
Black Flies by Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire
Le Retour by Catherine Corsini (Homecoming)
Elemental by Peter Sohn – Closing Film out of Competition
Un Certain Regard: This category was created as a survey for the current happenings of world cinema, films have been selected from various different cultures to showcase diversity. All the films will be screened at the Salle Debussy.
Le Règne Animal by Thomas Cailley – Opening Film
Los Delincuentes by Rodrigo Moreno (The Delinquents)
How to Have Sex by Molly Manning Walker | 1st Film
Goodbye Julia by Mohamed Kordofani | 1st Film
Kadib Abyad by Asmae El Moudir (The Mother of All Lies)
Simple Comme Sylvain by Monia Chokri (The Nature of Love)
Crowrã by João Salaviza, Renée Nader Messora (The Buriti Flower)
Los Colonos by Felipe Gálvez | 1st Film (The Settlers)
Omen by Baloji | 1st Film (Augure)
Ran Dong by Anthony Chen (The Breaking Ice)
Rosalie by Stéphanie Di Giusto
The New Boy by Warwick Thornton
If Only I Could Hibernate by Zoljargal Purevdash | 1st Film
Hwa–Ran by Kim Chang-Hoon | 1st Film (Hopeless)
Ayeh Haye Zamini by Ali Asgari, Alireza Khatami (Terrestrial Verses)
Rien À Perdre by Delphine Deloget | 1st Film
Les Meutes by Kamal Lazraq | 1st Film (Hounds)
He Bian De Cuo Wu by Wei Shujun (Only The River Flows)
Salem by Jean-Bernard Marlin
Une Nuit by Alex Lutz – Closing Film Out Of Competition (Strangers By Night)
Out of Competition: These films are also screened at the Théâtre Lumière but are not in the running for the main prize Palme d’Or.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny by James Mangold
Geo–Mi–Jip by Kim Jee-Woon (Cobweb)
The Idol by Sam Levinson
Killers of the Flower Moon by Martin Scorsese
L’abbé Pierre – Une Vie De Combats by Frédéric Tellier
Midnight Screenings: The festival reserves a few midnight screening slots for genres that are interesting and have challenging concepts.
Kennedy by Anurag Kashyap
Omar La Fraise by Elias Belkeddar | 1st Film (The King of Algiers)
Acid by Just Philippot
Hypnotic by Robert Rodriguez
Project Silence by Kim Tae-Gon
Cannes Premiere: Cannes Premiere was initiated to provide a place in the official selection for films that the Festival would have wanted to screen in the ‘In Competition’ category, but were unable to due to the limited number of slots in the main event.
Kubi by Takeshi Kitano
Bonnard, Pierre And Marthe by Martin Provost
Cerrar Los Ojos by Victor Erice (Close Your Eyes)
Le Temps D’aimer by Katell Quillévéré (Along Came Love)
Perdidos En La Noche by Amat Escalante (Lost In The Night)
L’amour Et Les Forêts by Valérie Donzelli (Just The Two Of Us)
Eureka by Lisandro Alonso
Special Screenings: This is not exactly an official selection category as it screens films outside the official programmes of the festival. The selection committee chooses these films for their authentic identity and nature.
Man in Black by Wang Bing
Occupied City by Steve Mcqueen
Anselm by Wim Wenders
Retratos Fantasmas by Kleber Mendonça Filho (Pictures of Ghosts)
Little Girl Blue by Mona Achache
Bread and Roses by Sahra Mani
Le Théorème de Marguerite by Anna Novion (Marguerite’s Theorem)
As Filhas do Fogo by Pedro Costa | Short Movie (The Daughters of Fire)
Extrana Forma de Vida by Pedro Almodóvar | Short Movie (Strange Way of Life)
How Can We See the Cannes Film Festival 2023?
The 76th Cannes Film Festival will be streamed on the official website of the event or you can receive updates via their social media accounts on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or Youtube.
